The decision to cast Ben Affleck as the new Batman has been met with all kinds of derision since it was announced this past week but it seems some fans are willing to take their disdain even further by petitioning Warner Brothers to get the former Daredevil to hang up the cape and cowl before filming has even begun.

The Academy Award winning actor and director has been under fire ever since he landed the role replacing Christian Bale who has played the Dark Knight since 2005 s Batman Begins. Despite a lucrative offer to return to the role Bale is believed to have been unwavering in his decision to move on from the iconic superhero paving the way for another actor to try to recreate the Christopher Nolan directed magic we’ve become accustomed to seeing.

It is believed by the petition’s creator John Roden that the 41 year old actor just isn’t “intimidating enough” to portray the role and lacks the acting chops to pull of a convincing Bruce Wayne. He qualifies this statement with the 70,000 signatures that have now been added to the Change.org plea. The unfounded claim is based entirely on Affleck’s portrayal of blind Marvel hero Daredevil in the 2003 flop of the same name but one only has to look at his role as former television Superman George Reeves to see how well suited the man behind Argo and The Town truly is. It’s interesting to see how people would be reacting had Affleck – who at one time was mentioned as a possible director for a Justice League movie – was the first choice for Batman in the post-Joel Schumacher era.

Need we remind you how people reacted to the casting of Heath Ledger as iconic bad guy The Joker or Michael Keaton as the first – and arguably best – Batman? None of this seems to matter though to John Roden and his 69,999 friends as they edge ever closer to their target of 75,000 signatures. Roden however was quick to point out that his call for the removal of Affleck is nothing personal:

“I would like to add that this petition was not meant in any way to harm Ben Affleck or his career.”

Whether you like the casting choice or not production is expected to begin as scheduled next year for release in the summer of 2015.

You can join the debate by joining us on our Facebook page or Twitter using the hash tag #Batfleck Don’t be shy, tell us what you think!